


when you move I move with you

by SapphireOcean (JujYFru1T)



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ballroom Dancing, F/M, Fluff, Long Live Feedback Comment Project, Originally Posted on Tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:14:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27337009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JujYFru1T/pseuds/SapphireOcean
Summary: An unrequited crush comes back into Eren's life in an unusual way.
Relationships: Mikasa Ackerman/Eren Yeager, Sasha Blouse & Eren Yeager
Comments: 8
Kudos: 28





	when you move I move with you

**Author's Note:**

> This was written in 2016 for Eremika fluff week day 2, and excavating from my Tumblr when a "like" reminded me it exists ^_^; The prompt was "dance". I remember not being too happy with it when I'd finished, but it's definitely grown on me!  
> Title is a lyric from Collect Call by Metric.

“Eren! Guess what?”

Eren looked up from his laptop as his roommate breezed into the living room. She thrust a flyer into his face before he could say anything. He peeled it from his forehead and took a look.

_Grand opening blabla discounted lessons for… Oh._

“Ballroom dancing, huh?”

“Yeah! Connie signed us up. I’m _so_ looking forward to it, because…”

Eren tried his best to listen to Sasha, but dancing of any sort bored him immensely, and he just didn’t have the bandwidth to pay attention to things that bored him. As his other roommate Jean loved to remind him, it was a wonder he’d made it through high school, never mind college. 

_Wonder why college was different… Sasha doesn’t seem like the type to like ballroom, never mind Connie… Is she gonna lead him since he’s so short?_

“…kasa Ackerman!”

_What?_

“Wait, what?” He sat up on the couch.

“I know,” Sasha said, sighing dreamily. “I still can’t believe we got a spot at her studio. I thought it’d be booked months out.”

“Mikasa Ackerman runs a dance studio?” Maybe he’d misheard.

Sasha shook her head– “She’s assistant teacher or something"– but her eyes still shone. “I’m gonna learn from a _star._ ”

He looked at the flyer again. That name jumped out at him, a smaller font but unmistakable. How had he missed it? “Can I come with you? I mean–” He took a swig from his water bottle, suddenly very thirsty.

“There might still be spots open! I’ll sign you up!” She raced away in search of her phone.

“That’s not what I–” _I can’t even– damn it._

***** 

“Why didn’t you just say you only wanted to watch?” Ymir asked him. She was trying not to laugh at him, he could tell. 

“I wasn’t fast enough,” he muttered. “Besides, once Sasha gets an idea in her head…”

“Good thing Krista and I are going. We’ll give you moral support. Anyway, it’s not like you ever spoke to Ackerman–”

“Thanks for reminding me.”

“–so she probably won’t know you from a hole in the ground, which means you can be your suave self and sweep her off her feet.”

“Because that’s totally how it went for you,” Eren said, smirking.

Ymir snorted. “Yeah, well, lucky for me Krista found my dorkitude endearing. Who knows, maybe she’ll like it if you make an ass out of yourself.”

“Man…” He dropped his head with a sigh. “I’m doomed.”

*****

He’d made it to the studio, tagging along in Connie and Sasha’s car. He’d walked in, said hello to his high school crush, and paired up with Annie to begin the lesson. 

Step 1: Do not spontaneously combust upon seeing Mikasa. Completed.

Step 2: ???????

He and Annie were both quiet, listening to Mikasa’s instructions while they attempted to waltz. There was a lot to keep track of: hand positioning, following the music’s rhythm, not stepping on Annie’s toes. He hadn’t known how complicated it all was. The more the better, though; with all that to concentrate on, he couldn’t think about Mikasa. Her hair was longer than it used to be, but her face was the same, if a little fuller. Her eyes were the same obsidian, full of quiet life.

_I wonder what she’d look like in a ponytail… Does she dance, or just teach it? What kind of music does she like to dance to?_

He winced when Annie stepped on his foot, winced again when he did the same to hers.

“Sorry.”

“No, it was my fault. I wasn’t, um–” He spotted Mikasa looking at them as they twirled by.

“Paying attention?” Annie’s mouth quirked. “You’re doing much better than I expected.”

Literally everyone he’d interacted with the past few days (sans Sasha) knew of his Ackerman problem. He stifled a sigh. What made matters worse was Annie had been in the same situation he’d been in, except she’d had the guts to actually talk to her crush. They’d been together ever since. She had the good grace not to lord it over him, but even so…

“You want me to hang around while you talk to her?”

“Talk?” His stomach flip-flopped.

“Use words to communicate, yes.”

“I don’t know what to say to her.”

“Just start somewhere,” she said as the music ended. “Say you liked the lesson more than you thought you would, or something.”

“I’m not gonna tell her a white lie. Ballroom is _not_ my thing, okay?” he whispered.

“It’s the first lesson. Give it time.” Her eyes focused over his shoulder. “You might change your mind.”

In the end, all he managed to do was thank her for the lesson and leave.

******

Each lesson went something like this: fumble his way through with varying levels of success, try very hard not to look at her, screw up the courage to say he was stopping the lessons but never spit it out. Repeat til the last lesson.

The last lesson.

_How’d I get this far? I’m not gonna see her again and I haven’t said anything–_

Somehow, he was the last one to leave. If he were being honest with himself (which he hadn’t been, at all, not since this all started), he’d say he didn’t _want_ to leave.

“Eren.” He’d heard her voice in many different ways during these past weeks; arcing clearly over the music as she issued instructions, firm but gentle as she helped correct postures or steps, filled with warmth as she complimented someone on their progress. She’d praised him once or twice, which he filed away and forgot about after the initial rush. But now, alone in the room with her, hearing his name made his pulse speed up.

“You have a lot of talent.”

“I… do?” He laughed quietly, opened his mouth to protest.

“No, you really do.” She was standing right in front of him, looking right at him, and he wasn’t dying. He was fine. He–

“What do you…” One hand fussed with her hair, then dropped down to grip her other wrist. “…think about…” She bit her lower lip, looked away then back at him. “…taking private lessons?”

_Private lessons. With Mi–_

His heart fell to his shoes only to fly back up into his throat.

He laughed again, louder. “With you? P-Private? But– But I–”

_Dancing with you. Holding you. Your hand on my shoulder. Close enough to–_

“I don’t even like ballroom!” he blurted, and the heat and panic enveloping him pushed more words past the pain from that _look_ on her face. “S-Sasha roped me into it, I don’t even like it but when I saw it was _you–_ I just wanted to see you and maybe talk to you and I didn’t know what I was doing and I started to _like it_ but only ‘cause you were teaching me _–”_

“Eren!” She stepped toward him, smiling now. “It’s okay.” She put a hand on his arm, outstretched from frantic gesturing.

He felt instantly calm. Deeply embarrassed, but calm.

“I… would _love_ to take private lessons with you,” he said on a sigh. “I just… you make me nervous. Be– Because I–”

“I noticed.” Her smile widened, but she didn’t laugh. “You don’t have to explain now. Why don’t you tell me after our first lesson?”

_I could kiss her right now._

She kissed his cheek, and turned to leave the room. “Bye, Eren.”

He couldn’t move an inch until she’d closed the backroom door.

*****

He told her before the lesson. Waiting until after would’ve been unbearable.

No, not before. In the midst of dancing with her, like the idiot he was.

“I’ve had a crush on you since I started high school.”

Amazingly, neither of them stopped moving.“That long?”

“Yeah.” He grinned, bashfully. “You’d never have noticed. I never said anything, never got within fifty yards of you…”

“I saw you a couple of times. I remember thinking you were cute.”

He tripped. She held him up.

“But it was a passing thought. I mean, Armin said you were a sophomore, and we were graduating that year; we had a lot of stuff on our plates… I forgot about you.” She gave a half smile. “Except I didn’t, I guess. Because I recognized you as soon as you came in. So I thought…”

She trailed off, looking away. The music had stopped, Eren realized. They stood still, close. His heart was pounding, beating so fast, but he felt calm.

“I don’t know what I thought,” she said finally, laughing softly. “But I was happy to see you, Eren, and I… didn’t want this to be the last we saw of each other. If I keep teaching you, then it doesn’t have to be.”

“It still wouldn’t have to be, though. Since I could contact you, now.”

“But you probably wouldn’t have.” Her gaze was fond.

He laughed. She knew him, somehow, after such a short time. “I definitely want to keep dancing with you, anyway.”

She smiled and leaned toward him. “I’m even willing to teach you,” she whispered, “pro bono.” 

And then she kissed him, and it was everything he’d wanted and more.

“We’ll figure that out,” he said, after, when he was sure he could let go of her and not hit the floor. “We have one more lesson to finish.”

When the lesson was over, she locked up the studio, and he left with her.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is part of the [LLF Comment Project](https://longlivefeedback.tumblr.com/llfcommentproject), which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. I invite and appreciate feedback, including:
> 
>   * Short comments
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>   * Questions
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>   * "<3" as extra kudos
>   * Reader-reader interaction
> 

> 
> I also reply to comments. But if you’d rather not receive a reply for any reason, sign your comment with “whisper” and I’ll just squee to myself about it. ^_^  
> Want/need help with something to write? [Find the LLF Comment Builder here!](https://longlivefeedback.tumblr.com/post/170952243543/now-presenting-the-llf-comment-builder-beta)


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